We source and use only recycled, previously used and/or rescued from landfill garments and fabrics. This literally means we've diverted a waste stream to rescue garments that are damaged beyond wear, that would ordinarily be destined for US landfills. That's our first stand against fast fashion and it's an important one.

Once we receive and process garments in our studio, we classify garments and everything ends up in our vintage stream or reworking stream. For example, a great vintage graphic t-shirt with holes and stains may be upcycled into something entirely new, like a dress. Creativity counts.

Our talented zero-waste designers will assess each rework stream and design patterns that maximize the use of each garment. Cut-offs, trims, zippers, buttons, ribbing, you name it, we classify and inventory all of it so it can become our new design materials. No need to buy new here. In fact, except thread and needles, we recycle sewing supplies extensively from clothing remnants.

We sample every design for our retailers and brands to keep aligned on emerging trends, ensuring there's a good match with the customer demographic before entering into any production. Ultimately, we want every single garment to be worn, treasured and last. At this stage, we also reject designs that we feel will not pass the test of time such as short-term micro trends. We prefer prioritizing more classic designs that will always have a place in the customer's closet.

Why does fast fashion fall apart after a few washes? Because the focus is on cost and speed, not quality. Our focus is quality first and cost second. We're not concerned about speed because our batch sizes are 20-100 at most. The focus on quality means, seams are clean, stitching is precise, fit is tailored well to size parameters. Each finished garment undergoes a thorough quality check before being packaged, and any defects are corrected. We also ensure there's a home for our production before we start sewing, so we don't end up with garments that remain unsold.